


today was a fairytale

by afire



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/F, Tumblr Prompts, i almost forgot that this was a collection and tagged everything in the first go, nice save, songfics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 12:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 9,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6424519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They love each other, and that's all that really matters.</p><p>(or: the author is physically incapable of writing multichaps so have this collection of songfics and tumblr prompts instead)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. do you feel us falling?

_So goodnight moon and goodnight you_

_When you’re all that I think about_

_All that I dream about_

_How’d I ever breathe without_

_A goodnight kiss from goodnight you_

            — Go Radio, Goodnight Moon

* * *

Maya slides in through the window at two in the morning, blinking at the sudden warmth of the room. Winter frost sparkles on her obsidian coat as she huffs on her hands, rubbing them together. Her eyes take a second to adjust to the darkness while she slides the window close as quietly as possible. Maya isn't sure about the rules of sneaking into the Matthews' apartment but she's sure it's changed since she and Riley started dating.

Speaking of Riley, the bed creaks and her silhouette comes into view as Maya puts her finger to her lips and tiptoes over. She shrugs off her coat and drapes it over Riley's dresser before going to slip under the covers. Her cold feet touch Riley's warm toes and the other girl jolts. Maya almost shrieks but manages to hold her breath and stop her vocal chords from betraying her.

"Sorry," she whispers, grimacing as she draws her legs in to sit crisscross applesauce and crossing her arms so she doesn't jab Riley with anymore frosty limbs. The world is quiet, and all she can hear is Riley's soft breathing and the ringing in her ears that never really go away. Outside, snow starts to fall, and Maya knows she'll be coerced into making snow angels once the sun rises, not that she minds.

"It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway," Riley says, smiling gently at her. Judging by the dent in her pillow and the exhaustion lining her eyes, Maya can tell it’s a lie. She smiles to herself and shakes her head gently before leaning on Riley so that she'll lie back down and she can cuddle in.

"Go back to sleep," Maya whispers, tucking her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and sighing as Riley's arms comes to wrap around her waist. Riley hums her consent and for a while, it's quiet except for the sound of their breathing.

And then-

"I'm sorry I actually can't sleep now," Riley says sheepishly, brown eyes wide in the darkness of the room. Maya rolls her own eyes and buries her face in the pillow.

"Alright, uh, do you wanna know why I came over?"

"Okay."

"I had a dream about a zombie apocalypse and half the world were zombies and I lost you in the middle of a fight so I panicked and ran over," she admits in one breath, cheeks tinging pink. Maya can feel Riley laughing against her and she gently prods the other girl in the gut. "Stop laughing I only told you because you couldn't sleep."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Riley says, pausing between laughs. She stops and sighs before hugging Maya tighter. "That's really sweet though."

"Can you sleep now?"

"Not really, but I'm getting sleepier."

Maya pouts and uses her baby voice, "Does Riley need something to help her sleep?"

"Yes, Riley does. Help her."

Maya leans forward to kiss her gently before cuddling closer and tucking her head between Riley's chin and shoulder. "Did that help?"

There's a smile in Riley's voice when she answers, voice already sleep-warm. "Yeah, goodnight peaches."

"Goodnight honey, I love you."

"I love you, too."


	2. take my hand (take my whole life too)

_Wise men say, only fools rush in_

_But I can't help falling in love with you_

_Like a river flows, surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be_

             — Can't Help Falling In love, 21 Pilots (Cover)

* * *

i.

They meet when the sun touches the horizon and bleeds the world red. Maya is lost and Riley is confused but their fingers tangle together almost immediately, like two puzzle pieces of the universe finally coming together.  
  
They end up falling over, under, for each other as the constellations light up the sky. In this moment, they are ethereal beings with stardust in their veins. In this moment, the world stretches as far as each other. In this moment, there is only them, but has there ever been anyone else?  
  
And so Maya is no longer lost and Riley is no longer confused because it is not difficult to smile when all you ever need is right there next to you.  
  
ii.

Riley isn't an artist but she paints a smile on Maya's face every day. Maya isn't a fixer but she collects all the pieces of herself that Riley throws away in her small hands and fits them back into their place. They aren't perfect but they're perfect for each other.  
  
Sometimes it's difficult to remember the strings that bind them together, when shouting rattles the roof and both of them scream things that they will later regret. Gold and silver threads pull them back from the cliff's edge and they hold each other like lifelines.  
  
When the world is quiet, they remember what love feels like, and then everything is okay again.  
  
iii.

They are painted in red, blue, white, backlit against the fireworks that bloom above them. Maya is silver and Riley is gold and there is so much pride in the sky that it is almost tangible in the air but they are only ever proud of each other.  
  
Lyrics spill from their fingertips as they twirl into the night, laughter crystallising into the atmosphere. Tonight, there is nothing except for the feeling of warm hands wrapping around your heart and the slow pulsing beat of the Earth as it spins to the rhythm of your feet.  
  
They don't let go of each other until the moon fades away and even then it is only to fall into each other again as they sleep.  
  
iv.

There is something very wonderful about the permanence of ink. It breathes magic into all the pages of their lives. Winter is followed by spring and the scrapbook that they made together is slowly getting filled up. There are so many pictures stuck to the colourful pages that the polaroids almost drip off and float to the ground.  
  
They cannot help but smile constantly at the bright camera flashes, revelling in wanting to be captured in the spur of the moment, on the edge of feeling. Maya sticks the images down and Riley captions them in black sharpie.  
  
There is an 'I love you' on every page.  
  
v.

Riley used to be afraid of the things that went bump in the night. Now she has Maya to hold her hand and every scary silhouette turns into a bunny or a unicorn or a fairy. She finds that nothing is scarier than Maya leaving her but she is right here and so close that Riley can count her heartbeats so there is nothing else to be afraid of.  
  
When morning comes, the shadows are gone but Maya is still here and Riley realizes that her heart only ever skips a beat now when Maya smiles at her.  
  
She is no longer afraid.  
  
vi.

The bonfire spits into the sky as waves break on the shore. It is hot and cold at the same time but they have each other so nothing else really matters. The sweet smell of roasting marshmallows hang in the air as they navigate the crowd, always touching in one way or another. It's customary now, this is how they harmonize. They play a duet with their broken strings and weave stories into their song.  
  
Riley's fingers are cold and she is shaking as she fumbles with the buttons on her coat. Maya laughs as she covers Riley's hands with hers and the sky burns orange as she slides the last button into place. Riley grins at her and she feels as if the sun has suddenly risen again.  
  
This is how they are now, and this this how they will be forever.


	3. please don't say you love me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "40 + rilaya"
> 
> exes meeting again after not speaking for years

Riley only turns around because she thought she saw someone familiar. She’’ll swear it, that’s the only reason, not because she’s always on edge these days, not because her heart is beating at double it’s normal speed, not because blonde hair always makes her look twice.

What she sees renders her speechless and unable to discern whether she’s thankful she turned around, or regrets it horribly. 

Riley hasn’t seen Maya in years, and it hurts, of course it does, but it’s been a long time and she’s not quite sure how to act around the person she used to love with all her life. To be quite honest, she thinks she still does. Maya is staring straight at her, an unreadable expression on her face, and that hurts more than anything else because Riley used to be able to read Maya so well.

“Hey,” she says, raising her hand to wave pathetically before letting it fall limply to her side.

“Hi,” Maya replies, and _god_  she still sounds the same, Riley is violently thrown back to the summer she turned seventeen, the summer she kissed Maya for the first time, a little tipsy and a lot in love. They should’ve worked, everyone said so, it was Riley and Maya, they were perfect together.

Except when they weren’t.

She can’t deny the truth, can’t say that they didn’t fall apart, can’t say that their relationship was perfect, but after all these years Riley is still head over heels in love with Maya Hart and that has to count for something.

“Do you wanna go grab a coffee?”


	4. ribs are a cage of a wild heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "meeting in prison au -Rilaya"

Strictly speaking, it’s not her fault she’s in here. Like, really, it isn’t her fault. Maya’s done some questionable stuff in her day but this time it really wasn’t her. 

Here’s what happened: It was late and she was walking back home from campus, seeing as living in the dorms was an experience she never wanted to go through again. Someone had ran out of an alleyway, chucked a knife at her (which she dodged thank goodness) and then hopped into what she now knows was a stolen car before driving away.

She still doesn’t know why they hauled her in but apparently she needs to get questioned, not that she has anything useful to say, she didn’t really get a good look at whoever it was, save for the fact that they were really tall and probably male.

The wooden door swings open and a police officer walks in. Maya half-stands, ready to get the hell out of here and go home, but he waves dismissively in her direction, his attention on someone else on the other side of the door.

Someone else turns out to be the prettiest girl Maya has ever seen, or maybe she’s just tired and the shitty prison lighting is messing with her eyes. She blinks once, letting her vision refocus. Nope, still really pretty.

The officer speaks lowly to the girl before shutting the door again, and Maya spends two seconds being bitter about it before turning to the girl. “So, what’re you in here for?”

The girl seems much too comfortable for someone standing in a dimly lit room with a stranger, and when she smiles Maya itches for a pencil and some paper to sketch her face. “Oh nothing, my mom’s a lawyer, I usually just wait here when she’s discussing cases.”

Maya nods, opens her mouth, closes it, then decides she has nothing to lose anyway, “So would you be opposed to maybe getting lunch and a movie sometime this week?”

The girl half-smiles, coming around to sit in the chair opposite Maya. “Are you asking me out?”

“Maybe.”

“I don’t know, I don’t date criminals.”

Maya laughs, reaching her hand out and introducing herself, “Hey I’m Maya, not a criminal.”

The girl takes it, smiling wide, “Well then, I’m Riley, see you twelve o’ clock on Saturday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me at my [tumblr](http://taylorswift.co.vu)


	5. this is gospel (for the vagabonds)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "4 + rilaya"
> 
> teacher/ ~~single parent~~ older sister of student (changing it up bc i can’t see either riley or maya being single parents, sidenote: they’re like 20/21 in this, maya is volunteering as an art teacher to fill up her portfolio)

Riley has a raspberry-flavoured slushie in one hand and her car keys in the other when she knocks on the door to Auggie’s classroom. Both her parents are out of town for the night on respective business trips so it came down to her to pick up Auggie.

He’s started taking after school art classes and Topanga deemed it unsafe to walk home during dusk so Riley had to swing by after work to pick him up, not that she minds that much, she loves Auggie really.

The door swings open to reveal her younger brother, clutching onto a piece of paper and reaching for the slushie. She passes it to him with a grin and he hugs her tightly, “Thanks for the slushie and picking me up.”

“No problem,” Riley says, stepping aside so he can exit the classroom and glancing up so she can thank whoever the teacher is.

The first thing she thinks is Auggie’s art teacher is _hot_ , and her second thought is that her first thought was extremely inappropriate. The teacher, who has the most startling blue eyes ever, looks to be about Riley’s age, maybe a year older, and she smiles at them both. “Hey, I’m Maya, though Auggie there calls me Miss Hart, he’s a great student.”

Riley takes a while to recalibrate, extending her hand once her brain settles down.”I’m Riley, and thank you, he’s been talking non-stop about his art class for weeks.”

Miss Hart, or Maya, really, beams, and Riley can feel herself blushing. From the looks of it, Auggie can tell, because he’s grinning, and not in the happy way, it’s more of the “I have a plan and I’m not going to tell you because you might stop me” way.


	6. lost souls in revelry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "15 + rilaya"
> 
> meeting in the E.R/A&E

Maya has five broken fingers and she thinks her nose might never look normal again. On the bright side, someone gave her a free cup of coffee and it doesn’t taste too bad, so all in all she’s not having that shit of a day.

The bandages around her right hand render it useless but she can survive on her left for a while, at least until her bones set and she can hold a paintbrush without wincing. As for her nose, well, she’s never been too attached to her sense of smell anyway.

She’s waiting for the nurse to come back with her ID and the bill when another girl gets ushered into the room, leaning heavily on crutches and taking a seat on the closest possible chair. There’s a cast around her left foot which looks horribly inconvenient and very painful.

Maya checks the time, looks at her hand, and decides that striking up a conversation isn’t the worst decision she’s going to make. “Hey,” she calls, waiting for the girl to look up, “are you going to be in that for long?”

The girls sighs, letting her crutches rest on the chair next to her, “At least a month, I really shouldn’t have been running around on the road.”

Maya would’ve been alarmed, but it’s winter, and the roads are icy, so that’s a logical, albeit a little silly, reason to break your foot.

“What about you?” The girl nods toward the cast around Maya’s right hand.

“This? I’m not sure, maybe two weeks? I punched a guy who was trying to hit on me,” she says, answering the unasked question.

The girl’s eyes widen, and then she starts laughing, and suddenly Maya feels lighter than she has in days. She gets up, picking up her coffee with her left hand and moves over so she doesn’t have to yell across the room to carry a decent conversation.

“So, what school do you go to?”


	7. could this be love at first sight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "28 or 45 + rilaya"
> 
> knocking on the wrong door

Riley realizes she’s at the wrong door the second after she knocks, loudly. Her first option is to run away but then she’ll have ding dong ditched and her morals can’t afford that kind of hit. She’s debating between her second option (pretending to be the delivery person) and the truth when the door swings open to reveal—

a girl. A girl with messy blonde hair and sleepy eyes, dressed in sweatpants and a paint-splattered t-shirt. Riley doesn’t think she’s been so smitten in her entire life.

“Uh, I’m really sorry, my friend lives upstairs and I realized I got the wrong door after I knocked but I didn’t want to run away.”

The girl looks like she hasn’t been awake long enough to understand what Riley is saying, especially since she’s speaking faster than she usually does due to general nervousness and anxiety.

“That’s okay, I needed to wake up anyway, thanks for that I guess.”

The girl rubs at her eyes and blinks up at Riley, who finds herself lost for words. “Uh- I just, you know, I should go?”

“Sure, see you around.”

Riley climbs the stairs instead of taking the elevator and calls Farkle to confirm his apartment number before getting him to open the door so she doesn’t knock on the wrong one again. He asks her why she’s blushing but she refuses to say. 


	8. we found love right where we are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "28 or 45 + rilaya"
> 
> pretending to hate each other

“I’m never speaking to you again!”

Maya has to simultaneously choke down a wave of panic and laughter at Riley’s dramatic voice, the girl in question standing across the room and pointing vehemently at her. Maya clears her throat, assuming the posture she knows she normally falls into when she’s trying to defend herself.

“Fine! I never— “ Here she really does choke, but it’s in character anyway so no one can blame her for her shaking voice when she finishes the sentence, “I never loved you anyway!” 

“Cut! Great scene girls, take five.”

Maya is halfway across the set before she even realizes what she’s doing, and by the looks of it Riley has the same idea. They fall into each other’s arms and it’s only with Riley hugging her tightly that Maya’s breathing starts to even out. 

“Man, I hate that scene,” Maya says.

“I know peaches, me too, but we’ll never have to do it again.”

Maya pulls back and leans in for a quick kiss, hoping that the cameras are turned off. If not, well, she can deal with the repercussions of that later. “I’ve always loved you, by the way.”

Riley laughs and suddenly they’re okay again, “And I’ll always love you, but the break-up lasts half a season we’ll have to pretend to hate each other for at least another week and a half.”

Maya groans but Riley’s arm is around her waist so she thinks everything will be fine.


	9. you are the only exception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "rilaya + 14?"
> 
> lab partners

“Maya!” Riley hisses, poking the other girl in the gut in hopes that their teacher hadn’t noticed her sleeping. “We still have to do the experiment!”

Her girlfriend blinks sleepily before stretching and yawning, settling back into her chair and staring at the beaker of iodine they have in front of them. “I’ll do the cleaning up, you can do the science bit,” she says, settling back onto her arms and closing her eyes.

Riley groans, nudging her lab goggles out of the way so Maya doesn’t accidentally crush them. “It’s half our grade!”

“All the more reason for you to do it then,” Maya says, voice muffled because she’s talking into the fabric of her shirt. ”The last time I tried something it blew up.”

Which, okay, that isn’t a lie, it _did_  blow up, but no one got hurt and at least it was a learning experience.

“I promise nothing here has the ability to blow up.”

“Then what’s the point?” 

“Safety and education.”

Maya sighs, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes, “Okay, okay I’m up.”


	10. and i'm your lionheart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "36 rilaya :)"
> 
> living in a society where their love is taboo

Maya jumps when someone puts their hand on her shoulder, immediately going for the dagger she knows is hidden in her boot. She only relaxes when she turns around, squinting in the at the figure and recognizing Riley in the evening light.

“What are you doing here? It’s almost dark!”

Riley sighs, wrinkling her nose, “It’s the only time I could find to sneak out, and I wasn’t about to go to bed without telling you goodnight.”

Maya softens, “You know I only ever want you to be safe,” she says, reaching for a hug, one which Riley gladly falls into, squeezing tightly.

“I know, and I am, but I also love you, and oh Maya, I turn seventeen _tomorrow_.”

Maya doesn’t need the reminder, the date is seared into her mind, even without the fading calendar she keeps next to her bed. In this kingdom, unlike all the others, it’s the princess that inherits the crown, in this case, Riley. On the day the heir comes of age, their seventeenth birthday, a tournament is held to find a suitor. That is to say, Riley’s fate has been sealed since the day she was born, she was never meant to marry for love. And whilst it’s not all that odd for two girls or two boys to be together, it’s downright unheard of for royalty to marry a commoner.

And that’s what Maya is, a commoner, a street urchin, someone who doesn’t quite know where their next meal is going to come from. She’s not bitter, not anymore, anyway, she’s gotten over the whole ‘this is a sad life’ thing. What she didn’t expect was to fall in love with the princess, and to have the princess love her back.

“I know, honey,” Maya says, resigned to the fact that her one true love is going to marry someone else and she can do nothing to stop it, short of kidnapping Riley and running away, which she does not want to do. Riley deserves her life here, and Maya deserves what she gets.

“No, no no no, I’m not just going to sit back and let this happen, it’s my life. Why shouldn’t I get the chance to decide who I want to marry? The princess gets the crown but she can’t choose who she wants to marry?”

“Honey-”

“Maya, fight for me.”

“What?”

Riley’s hands slide down to her wrist, gripping tightly, her gaze determined and strong, “Fight for me, tomorrow, at the tournament, I know you can, I’ve seen you.”

“Riley they’ll recognize me straightaway, I won’t be allowed.”

“I’ll find some armor for you, there’s nothing in the rules that says you have to reveal your identify.”

“Riles-”

“ _Peaches._ ”

Maya bites her lip, going through all the ways this could possibly go wrong in her head, then she looks at Riley. Earnest, warm Riley, who essentially just proposed to her.

“Okay.”


	11. us against the world

The thing is, Riley knows that Maya deserves more than life has given her, and just maybe life is starting to realize that as well. They have a family now, with Shawn and Katy and lots of love, Maya has people who care for her not because they have to but because they want to. Riley knows all this, and yet-

And yet she finds herself staring at the ground when Maya climbs in through the window, holding plane tickets to Ireland, the biggest grin on her face when she tells Riley how Shawn had surprised them, saying it’s only proper if they spend their first Christmas together in the country where everything had, technically, began.

Riley’s happy for her, of course she is, how could she not be? Best friends should be happy for each other when good things happen to them, not feel this knot of something unidentifiable in their gut. Maya’s finally letting herself hope, letting herself believe that good things can happen to her and not just Riley, finally accepting that, just maybe, she deserves these good things, so why can’t Riley just smile and be happy for her?

“Honey, are you okay?”

Riley looks up, sees the concern in Maya’s face and can’t help but remember what Smackle said back at Topanga’s when they were explaining their Secret Santa presents.

Broken but beautiful. So, so beautiful.

“I’m fine peaches, just really happy for you!” Riley smiles, finally, even though it feels fake and Maya can probably tell, “When are you leaving?”

She prides herself on the fact that her voice doesn’t break on the last word.

Maya looks at her for a moment before sitting down next to her in the bay window, reaching over to hold her hand. “Remember when you told me to dream dreams? And that I’ll get everything I want in life?”

Riley remembers, of course she does, she remembers everything she ever said to Maya, however small, however inconsequential. “Yeah, and I was right wasn’t I? You’ve got it, Maya, I knew you would.”

“Riley, I don’t want anything life can give me unless you’re there with me.”

Riley blinks once, twice, then looks up at her best friend.

_Broken but beautiful._

“You should know by now that I don’t go anywhere without you,” Maya continues, tightening the grip she has on Riley’s fingers, “we’re leaving this Saturday.” She holds up the plane tickets, separating them so Riley can see that there’s two, “Do you wanna come with me to Ireland for Christmas?”

This time, when Riley smiles, it’s the most genuine thing she’s felt since Maya climbed in through the window that morning. “Yeah, I do.”


	12. silver bells

“Riley-”

Maya doesn’t manage to get more than one word out before she’s falling onto her back. Luckily, the snow is soft, which is probably the reason why Riley even suggested making snow angels in the first place. The thing is, it’s almost ten at night and they’re in Central Park and Maya would really appreciate it if she were on her feet, ready to swing a punch if someone decides to try something.

Riley, obviously, has other ideas, because she’s currently laughing, sprawled out in the the snow and waving her limbs around like a very confused octopus. Her left hand is still holding onto Maya’s right and she doesn’t seem to want to let go anytime soon.

“Riley if we get mugged I need to be standing to fight back.”

“We’re not going to get  _mugged_  peaches, just relax and make snow angels.”

The thing is, Maya isn’t a stranger to Central Park and what can happen there, much the opposite really. While Riley sees Christmas lights and a soft blanket of freshly fallen snow, Maya sees dark corners and shadows in which someone could easily hide. They’ve never been all that similar in the way they looked at the world, and Maya thinks Riley knows that, because her girlfriend is rolling over, settling on Maya’s stomach, head resting on her arms, which are covered by a puffy winter jacket.

“Maya, come on,” Riley says, and Maya can tell what she’s thinking purely because she’s been so attuned to it for so long now. Maya’s made some memories in Central Park, not bad, exactly, but not good either. Riley just wants Maya to have something better to remember.

“Alright, honey, one snow angel, and then we go home.”


	13. tell her you love her

“So I was thinking maybe we could all just take the subway, and-”

“Prom sucks,” Maya interrupts, and then immediately cringes at the look of surprise on Riley’s face, but barrels on anyway, “let’s just skip it this year.”

“What?” Riley stops walking, reaching out to pull Maya to a standstill as well. Her best friend isn’t meeting her eyes, directing her gaze toward the ground instead. She’s fidgety, and her feet won’t stop moving. “Why?”

“Just- what’s so good about it anyway? Someone makes a big deal out of asking, everyone goes ‘awww’ for two seconds and then it’s just a high school dance.”

 “Maya, neither of us have dates to prom, we’re just going to have fun, and it’s a rite of passage! Everyone goes to prom.” Riley’s confused, this is the first she’s heard of Maya disliking prom, and they’ve been talking about it for weeks now.

 “I don’t know, wouldn’t it be more fun if we just skipped it and went bowling or something?” Maya’s looking up now, something in her eyes that Riley just can’t put her finger on.

And then it clicks, and Riley smiles, “Will you go to prom if I asked?”

“Wha-?”

“As my date,” Riley clarifies, because as casual as her tone is, this is a monumental question, and they both need to be on the same page. “Will you go to prom with me as my date?”

Maya blinks, and then she smiles, and Riley knows what she’s going to say before she says it. 

“Yeah, of course.”


	14. kids in love will do almost anything

They’re at the park, and it’s nice, and Maya’s sketching lightly onto a piece of paper she found in Riley’s pocket. There are kids running around and some people jogging, but no one disturbs them underneath their tree, where Riley is people-watching with an unreadable half-smile on her face.

It’s five seconds after the sound of a dog barking hits the air that she asks, “Would you steal a puppy for me?”

Maya pauses, puts her pencil down before turning so she can look up into Riley’s face, “Yes, but not if I have to take it from a child.”

Riley smiles, and the sun is setting behind her and she’s outlined in gold and Maya is so in love that she says without thought, “I’d do pretty much anything for you.”

It’s quiet, and soft, but Riley hears anyway, and her smile turns gentler, more subtle as she cards her fingers through Maya’s hair, “Yeah, me too.”


	15. as long as we're together (does it matter where we go)

Riley wakes up slowly, in tiny increments. It’s nice, if a little unorthodox since she’s used to getting jolted awake by her alarm clock. She rolls over, immediately shutting her eyes tight because of the sun that’s streaming in through the window.

An arm is flung across her waist and it takes her a moment to register what’s happening, and then she’s smiling, wide and unrestrained.

Maya’s still sleeping next to her, body curled into Riley’s side and snuffling softly. It’s early, or something like that, Riley can’t tell because of the absence of an alarm clock on her bedside drawer, but it doesn’t matter, her eyes are already sliding shut, lured back to sleep by Maya’s gentle breathing.

 

**...**

 

The next time she wakes up is to the sensation of something tickling across her collarbone. She blinks twice, reaching up to rub at her eyes, or she tries to anyway, because her hand hits something decidedly warm and alive.

Riley blinks a couple more times before her vision stops swimming, then smiles at the sight of Maya hovering above her, golden curls dancing around her face.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Says you,” Riley grumbles, not having forgotten the fact that it was she who had woken up first.

Maya laughs softly, leaning down to steal a kiss, “Yeah, yeah, says me.”

It’s nice, and quiet, and Riley is awash in the feeling of being loved, like she always is when she’s with Maya.

“I love you,” she says when they part, because the sun has risen properly now, and is streaming in through the window, and Maya looks like a goddess, backlit and outlined in gold, the sun slicing through her hair and dusting across her freckles, her eyes have never been bluer.

“Love you too,” Maya says easily, beaming as she dusts a kiss across Riley’s nose before sitting up and stretching.


	16. do you wanna be my sidekick

The thing is, Maya’s only in this class because she needed humanities credits to graduate. She doesn’t even know what they’re trying to teach, the professor’s going off on a tangent about how humans are like monkeys, or maybe it’s the other way around.

Anyway, she’s bored, and her laptop’s dead and-

is the girl in front of her taking Buzzfeed quizzes?

The lights are dimmed because the professor is doing a PowerPoint slide presentation, and the girl’s laptop must be at full brightness because holy  _fuck_  it’s bright.

It’s a good thing Maya’s the only one in the last row.

She can’t quite see what’s on her screen, and it seems a little weird, not to mention creepy, to try and look, but Maya can sort of make out the giant title in all caps, asking WHEN WILL YOU MEET YOUR SOULMATE?

Maybe this class won’t be boring after all.

 

**...**

 

It’s three days later, in the library, that Maya sees the girl again. This time, her laptop is nowhere to be seen, and she’s carrying far too many books, even with her abnormally long arms.

If anyone asks, Maya only offered to help because she felt nice. That’s the only reason.

“Hey, need a hand?”

The girl glances up and smiles and well, if Maya hadn’t been gone for her already. “Hey! Yeah! That’ll be great, thank you!”

Maya takes half her books and they both navigate to a spot in the back of the library. The girl crashes into the sofa seat, flinging her arms up exaggeratedly, “Finally!”

Maya smirks bemusedly, “You really  _are_  a very dramatic person aren’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know, probably the same thing that tells me you really like dogs, and having picnics is your favorite thing to do on weekends, and you’ll probably get lilac flowers for your wedding, and also you’ll meet your soulmate within this year.”

The girl blinks at her, “Wha-? How?”

“I saw you doing Buzzfeed quizzes in the Evolution class a couple days back,” Maya says with a wink, sitting down on the opposite of the table. “Don’t worry, no one else could tell.”


	17. this love is ours

They’re fighting, and it sucks. They never fight, not usually, it just doesn’t happen, but they’re fighting now and it sucks.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”

Riley looks like she’s at her wit’s end, dragging her fingers through her hair and gesticulating wildly. 

“I’m sorry for  _caring_ ,” Maya bites back, crossing her arms, because even though fighting  _sucks_  and trying to be mad at Riley  _hurts_ , this is what she knows how to do. She lashes out, pulls her defenses back up, and the cool mask of indifference that she wears so easily slides back into place.  

“This isn’t you caring Maya! I know what it looks like when you care! This isn’t it!” Riley stalks over, grabs Maya by the shoulders and shakes her a little. “What’s wrong with you?” She asks again, and maybe it’s the desperation that sneaks into her tone, but Maya snaps.

“I love you, okay? I’m sorry. For not telling you sooner and all that I just- god how can you not see how in love with you I am? It’s so much sometimes, I don’t even know what to do with myself, I hate feelings, they’re always so confusing and this hurts sometimes, okay? I’m sorry but it hurts, and I lash out, and I’m  _sorry_.”

There’s silence for what feels like a minute, or an hour, and suddenly Riley’s in front of her, cool fingers on the underside of Maya chin as she pushes gently, tilting her head up. “Peaches, I love you too.”

And Maya exhales. 


	18. sleigh bells ring

Maya doesn’t enjoy the cold, per se, but she certainly tolerates it far better than a certain someone she knows. 

Riley’s shivering so violently Maya can hear her teeth clattering together. She has three layers on and should logically be sufficiently warm, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. It takes three blocks for Maya to break, shrugging off her winter coat and holding it in front of Riley.

“Here, before you freeze to death.”

“B-b-but what ab-b-bout y-y-y-y-you?”

Maya rolls her eyes, she just has a hoodie and a t-shit on now, and is noticeably less warm than she was when she had her coat now, but she isn’t nearly as cold as Riley is.

“I’m fine, take it.”

Riley beams at her, sliding her arms into the jacket before wrapping them around herself like she’s trying to conserve the residual heat Maya left. “I love you more than you believe,” she says, and it’s immediately evident that the extra layer is doing it’s job.

Maya manages not to smiles too widely, leaning closer to her girlfriend and sliding her hand into the pocket of the coat so they won’t get separated, “Same here.”


	19. i love the way you wake me up

“You keep asking me to stay, but you always choose him over me,” Riley’s frowning, “I’m tired.”

Maya turns around, holding her cup, the one that says ‘art goddess’ on it, and sighs, “I asked you to stay because I’m making your cup next, so you’re less tired, and also you’re pointing at the coffee machine.”

Riley has her arms crossed now, very petulantly, as she taps her foot on the linoleum, though the effect is mostly waylaid by the fact that she’s trying, and failing, to hide a smile, “You told me I come first!” She huffs.

Maya rolls her eyes, reaching for the coffee pot and (finally) pouring Riley her cup, handing it over, “You always come first, honey,” she says exasperatedly, gently checking her girlfriend on the hip before padding into the living room.

“Thanks for the coffee!”


	20. love you like a love song

“Don’t hurt her! She’s the only one who loves me!”

“Peaches, come on, this happens every month,” Riley’s standing by the door, coat on and wearing a gently chiding expression, “let’s go.”

Maya’s in front of her, wearing a shit-eating grin, “They’re not real doctors! They’ll take her organs and sell them on the black market!”

“It’s her monthly check-up, they’ll pat her down and then send us home with a free packet of KittyNibbles, like every other month.”

“Are you suuuuure?” Maya asks, dragging out the word, but she’s toeing on her shoes and reaching for her own coat.

“Yes, very, pick up the cat and let’s go.”

Maya’s still grinning when she leans down to pick their kitten up, but then again so is Riley, so it’s a win-win situation for all.


	21. she is the best thing (that's ever been mine)

Riley wakes up to golden fingers of sunlight inching their way across the bedspread, rubbing blearily at her eyes. She stretches and rolls over — right into Maya, who laughs gently, attempting to scoot backward so they’re not all smushed together.

Riley follows unconsciously, immediately closing the tiny gap that Maya created, and her girlfriend laughs again, softly, and Riley has this insane thought that Maya’s laugh sounds like feathers, which makes no sense but all the sense in the world at the moment.

Maya leans down to kiss her on the nose, “You always this quiet?” She asks jokingly, eyes twinkling with amusement. The sun is still rising, hanging low above the horizon, and half the bedroom is still in shadows, but Maya is backlit magnificently, outlined in a bronze glow that shines through her blonde curls, teasing her eyes into a soft, washed-out blue.

And Riley is so in love with her that her heart grows warm at the thought.

“Only when I look at you,” she responds quietly, snuggling closer.

Maya’s only response is a kiss to the top of her head, and Riley knows she’s heard.


	22. knock me down, not forever

Maya only has two seconds to prep a response before she’s being hit square in the face with a pillow. Riley’s on the other side of the bed, looking for all the world like she’s ready for war.

She should be, because this _is_  war.

Maya bends to grab the pillow off the floor, standing back up and launching the two she’s holding in quick succession, laughing when Riley shrieks and lifts her arms to deflect. She vaults herself over the bed, running her fingers over stomach where she knows her girlfriend is ticklish.

“Stop it! That tickles!”

“I know! That’s why I’m doing it!” Maya half-shouts in response, she’s about to cut her losses and make a run for it when Riley reaches out and suddenly she’s lying across the bed.

“I surrender! White flag! You win! Game over!”

Riley tilts her head to the side, “Sorry what was that?”

“WHITE FLAG GAME OVER!” Maya yells laughingly, and Riley’s hand is suddenly on her mouth.

“You are the only reason the neighbors complain at least twice a month.”

Maya waggles her eyebrows teasingly, “You sure?”

Riley flushes and Maya takes the opportunity to reach for her hand and pull her down onto the bed as well, shuffling to the side so her girlfriend lands on the bed and not her hipbone. She then leaps up to swing one leg across Riley’s hips, “I win! My amazing battle strategy worked, three cheers for me!”

Riley’s laughter echoes through the apartment and the next morning they get another noise complaint letter, but neither of them care very much for those, anyway.


	23. since we've no place to go

It’s about two in the afternoon on a Friday, it’s just stopped snowing, there’s about five inches worth of powder on the ground, and neither of them are in school because it’s literally impossible to get in through the front doors so they cancelled it.

Maya’s sitting on Riley’s bed, laughing as she complains about being cold.

“It’s the middle of winter, honey,” she says, and is only a little bit smug about running warm all the time and only needing a jacket over her sleep shirt to feel adequately warm.

Riley’s wearing three layers of shirts and two jackets and is also bundled up in blankets, cuddling as close as she can to Maya, and right now she’s frowning, “This isn’t fair,” she says, voice muffled because she’s half-buried under the covers.

Maya leans down to kiss the top of her head, humming in content, “Would you run away with me? Like, now?”

Riley jabs her right below her ribcage and Maya yelps as she squirms away.

“Listen peaches, I love you, but it’s negative four hundred degrees out there, I’ll run away with you only if we’re going to somewhere warm and I’m not cold at all during the running.”

Maya’s laughing again, sneaking her arms around her girlfriend and hugging tight. Riley’s trying to contain her smile but it’s not working, and she only snuggles closer.

“We can run away when it’s warmer.”

Rileys yawns, eyes drifting shut, “Mmm, that’s a good idea.”


	24. we found love right where we are

There are pretty lights dancing around the corners of her vision, but as much as she blinks, Riley can’t quite seem to focus enough to look at the lights directly. She shakes her head slowly from side to side, and is pleasantly surprised when Maya appears on her left.

“Peeaaaaches! Hello! There are lots of pretty lights but I can’t really … can’t really see them,” she sways into Maya, who catches her.

“Oh, honey, how many pretty drinks did you have?”

“One of every color! They all taste different!”

Maya mutters something under her breath before snaking an arm around Riley’s waist, “Alright, time to go home now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, honey, come on.”

Riley stumbles toward the door, still leaning on Maya as she leads them through the pretty lights, reaching out in an attempt to grab them and frowning when she can’t.

She blinks a couple of times and they’re out on the street, and the wind is cold and she’s just a little more in focus than she was a couple minutes before. “Maya.”

“Right here, honey.”

“What time is it?”

There’s the sound of shuffling, and then a quiet chuckle, “Ten o’ clock.”

Riley grins, and then she spaces out until they’re standing in front of her bedroom door. She falls through, barely managing to make it to the bed. Her bed? Probably, seems familiar.

Maya returns with two aspirin and a glass of water and Riley protests for about two seconds before she relents and downs the pills, swallowing half the glass before collapsing back onto the bed.

“Peaaaaches, come heeeeere.”

Maya takes a couple of seconds to pad over, and then there’s a warm body next to hers and Riley rolls over immediately, cuddling in.

“Love you,” she mumbles into Maya’s collarbone.

“ _Do_ you really love me?” Maya asks teasingly.

“Lots and lots,” Riley says in reply.

She’ll wake up to another glass of water and a mild headache that would’ve been worse if Maya hadn’t brought her the aspirin, but best of all she’ll wake up to Maya smiling down at her, so for now Riley sleeps.


	25. won't let nobody hurt you

Riley’s just about to close the door when a soft voice drifts through the narrow gap.

“Mommy?”

She pokes her head back in with a smile, “Yes?”

“Can you check under my bed for monsters?”

She backtracks into the room, a teasing grin on her face, “Didn’t Mama already check?”

“Yeah! But Mama’s not afraid of anything! What if there’s a monster there and she thought it was friendly?”

Riley laughs under her breath, making a mental note to tell Maya about this conversation.

“Alright then,” she sits down on the floor, making a show of checking under the bed and sweeping her hand across the space that’s littered with toys and dust, but no monsters. “It’s all clear, there’s nothing there.” 

She gets back up, dusting her hands off, “Happy?”

Alexander shakes his head petulantly, “Closet?”

“I’m sure there’s nothing in there, darling.” She says, but she’s walking toward the wooden doors anyway, swinging them open and sticking her head in for a couple seconds before stepping back and closing them. “See? No monsters in the closet, either.”

Alex grins, finally satisfied, “Okay, goodnight Mommy.”

“Goodnight dear, we’ll see you in the morning.”

Riley closes the door with one last smile at him before making her way to the living room, where she finds Maya sitting at the table with a frown on her face as she studies her sketchbook. “What’re you doing?”

Maya looks up, and there’s a smudge of charcoal on the end of her nose that makes Riley hide a smile behind her hands. “Oh, hey, just finishing up a sketch for tomorrow’s class,” she says, dropping her pencil to stretch, “did you tuck the little guy in?”

Riley drops into the seat opposite, resting her chin in her hands, “Yeah, I had to re-check the closet and under the bed for monsters, too, because you’re apparently ‘not afraid of anything’ and assumed the monsters were friendly.”

Maya laughs, “Well he’s not wrong.” She picks up her pencil again, going back to her sketchbook, only looking up when Riley doesn’t say anything for a while. “What?”

“Nothing, just, are you almost done?”

“Yeah I just need to ink in the lines so I can make copies,” Maya looks up, and Riley sees something shift in her expression, “but I can do it tomorrow.” She stands up, closing her sketchbook and stretches a hand toward Riley, “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Riley smiles, taking it, “Okay.”


	26. won't let no one break your heart

Maya’s just about  _done_  with the car seat. Alex is in the car opposite her, struggling to buckle it down while she holds the seat in just the right position but it’s obviously not working out. Mel’s sitting on Riley’s lap on their front porch, patiently waiting for her seat to be ready.

Maya is decidedly a lot less patient.

She leaves Alex to it, walking back toward Riley, “I give up, it doesn’t work, let’s just throw it out and Mel can sit on your lap.”

Riley’s smiling indulgently at her, “That’s not only illegal but also unsafe, and it’s just a chair, peaches.”

“It’s a death trap,” Maya deadpans, gesturing toward the car, where Alex had just let out a shout of exasperation and is now running his hands through his hair. “Why don’t you try?”

Riley holds Mel out toward Maya, who takes her and swings her up onto her shoulders, much to her delight. “Alright, you just have to strap the seat belt in through the back right?”

Maya shrugs incredulously, “Who knows?”

Five minutes later, Riley’s got the chair strapped in and Maya is caught between disbelief and annoyance, mostly at herself but also the chair, but Riley looks very pleased with herself and they can finally get on the road so she lets it go, sliding into the passenger seat.

“Who’s ready to go on an adventure?”


	27. on a wednesday, in a cafe

Riley’s tucking her dripping umbrella into a plastic bag as she steps into _Topanga’s_ , shaking out her shoes so she doesn’t track wet footprints everywhere. She makes her way over to the counter, sliding into the seat next to Maya.

“Hello!”

Maya turns to her with grin and Riley pauses, knowing that whatever’s coming next is not anything that she’d expect. She accepts the glass of lemonade Katy passes her with a thankful smile before turning back to Maya, who has schooled her expression into something that looks like regret but also with a hint of longing.

Riley has no idea how she does that.

Maya leans forward slowly, twirling her glass around in one hand. “Riley. It’s been a while.”

Oh, god.

“Peaches, I saw you this morning, you made me coffee, I kissed you goodbye.”

Maya slumps back. “ _Fourteen years_ -”

“Oh, come on! That’s so long! I can’t even manage to not see you for a  _day_  do you think I’ll last fourteen years?”

“ _Fourteen years I spent alone!”_

“You don’t have to do this every time we go on a date.”

“FOURTEEN!”

Riley leans forward and kisses the grin right off Maya’s face.

“Happy now?”

Maya smiles, looking extremely pleased with herself. “Yes.”

Riley sighs. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I really am.”


	28. that's the way i loved you

“I think my eyes are glazing over.”

Maya lets the scissors fall from her hands before falling backward herself, flinging an arm over her face. She hears shuffling, and then Riley sits down next to her, reaching down to run her fingers through Maya’s hair. 

“You don’t have to do this, you know?”

Maya cracks one eye open. “You serious? Of course I have to do this, it’s part of my girlfriend duties.”

Riley grins crookedly at her, and Maya thinks she’s the luckiest girl in the world, ever.

“I’m starting to think volunteering to make the signs was not one of my best decisions.”

“Nope, it was not,” Maya says, sitting up and picking up the scissors again, “but since you did it let’s just finish up and then go find your Mom and ask her to give us some food.”

“You got it.”


	29. this love is sweeter than fiction

“Riley, what is this.”

Maya’s standing at the door, shoes still in her hand, when something very fast and very fluffy flies toward her at breakneck speed. She almost chucks her shoes at a window in an attempt not to overbalance.

Her girlfriend pokes her head out of the kitchen, the widest grin on her face, “That’s Buttercup!”

“I wasn’t aware we had a dog.”

“Aww peaches, she looked so lonely, can’t we keep her?”

Maya frowns, and it’s at this moment that Buttercup decided to try and climb up her legs. “You’re a big dork aren’t you?”

Both Riley and the dog make a similar noise and Maya laughs. Alright, maybe they can keep her.


	30. to build a home

“Peaches!”

Maya stumbles, curses under her breath, and catches herself on the doorframe. She sets the box down, spinning around, “What? What’s wrong?”

Riley’s got one hand on her hip and a very dangerous look on her face. Maya unconsciously takes a step back.

“I said no big boxes!”

Maya frowns, “But it’s my art stuff.”

“You have a broken wrist!”

“It doesn’t even really hurt anymore!” Maya exclaims, lifting her arm up to show the bandage. She’s lying, it hurts quite a bit, but she isn’t about to admit that.

Judging from the look on her face though, Riley knows.

“You’re not allowed to move anymore boxes.”

“Not even the small ones?”

“You can’t be trusted,” Riley says, picking up the box that Maya discarded. “My dad will pick up the slack. Go sit down in the kitchen.”

“On the floor?”

“Yes!” Riley calls over her shoulder, “You’re not allowed to set up the dining set!”

Maya groans. Well, at least they got some pizza before starting the move.

Later, when everything is more or less in the room it needs to be in, Riley flops down onto the floor next to her.

“I could’ve helped,” Maya says immediately.

Riley picks up one of the leftover pizza slices. “You would have broken your other wrist.”

“I would not! I was being careful!”

Riley raises an eyebrow at her and Maya looks down at her cast sheepishly. “Okay, well, I was going to be more careful.”

“You can set up the bookcase when your wrist heals, I don’t know how to do it.”

Maya grins, “Deal.”


	31. she is the sunlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "hello rilaya + 2"
> 
> things you said through your teeth

“Honey, could you- oh fuck.”

When Riley turns around, Maya’s standing in a circle of haphazardly dropped art supplies. The pencils that she was speaking around are still in her mouth, and she reaches up to remove them while Riley steps gingerly around the mess.

“Peaches, I told you not to try and move everything by yourself.”

“It’s so much faster!”

“There’s a box like, right there, you could’ve used it.”

Maya frowns, crossing her arms, and Riley has to stop herself from reaching out to kiss it away. Instead, she bends down and picks up said cardboard box, holding it out toward her girlfriend. “Here’s the box, let’s start again.”

They spend the next couple minutes shoveling Maya’s small mountain of brushes and sketchbooks and packs of charcoal into the box, and when Riley stands up, happy with the result, she dusts her hands off on her shirt and grins. “There, isn’t that much better?”

“So much better, Mom,” Maya grumbles, hefting the box up and starting to move toward the room that’s going to be her art studio.

“You love me!” Riley calls after her.

There’s no reply for a couple of seconds, and then Riley hears a muffled curse followed by a gigantic crash. Maya darts out of the room, her hands up in surrender. “Everything’s fine, I love you too, don’t come in.”

Riley huffs, “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes.”

“Just looove me,” Maya sing-songs before disappearing back into the room and Riley smiles because that’s the one thing she’s never had trouble doing.


	32. all we are is skin and bone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "also rilaya + 17 (*evil laughter*)"
> 
> things you said that i wish you hadn’t

“Why don’t you just  _go_?”

Riley regrets the words as soon as they leave her mouth, eyes wide and desperate as she searches frantically for a way to take them back. It’s too late, of course, Maya shuts down almost immediately, shoulders tightening, a mask sliding down over her face, so physically apparent that Riley wants to reach out and tear it off.

“You want me to leave? Then I’ll leave.”

The door slams shut and Riley jumps even though she knew it was coming. It feels like she’s fifteen again, watching Maya crawl out the window, helpless to do anything to bring her back.

It’s stupid, the whole argument had been stupid and trivial and frustratingly hollow, Riley doesn’t even know how it escalated to that point. She sets her jaw, making a grab for her coat (and Maya’s leather jacket) and steamrolls out the door after her girlfriend.

Riley finds Maya in the first place she looks, angrily pacing in front of the bench in Central Park. She approaches slowly, making sure that her footsteps are loud enough to alert Maya to her presence.

“Peaches-”

“Is this what’s going to keep happening? I’m- I don’t want to keep coming back if you’re just … just tired of us. I’ll go, you don’t have to keep coming after me.”

Maya’s voice cracks on the last couple words and Riley can feel her heart breaking along with it. Because she knows Maya’s sick of it all, of leaving and being left behind, of everything that comes with that. Riley knows it took Maya so long to let herself trust that they were forever, and she’s just thrown it out the window with one stupid, stupid sentence.

“No! No, I’m not tired of us, I never will be! I’m sorry, I should’ve have said that, I shouldn’t have started the argument in the first place, I’m so sorry, peaches, I never want you to leave.” She steps forward, holding Maya’s jacket out in an attempt at an apology. “Please come home.”

Maya glances at her, refusing to make eye contact, and the silence is deafening and way too long, but she finally reaches out to accept the peace offering. “Riles-“ She cuts herself off, shrugging the jacket on and shuffling her feet on the pavement. “I love you, and I know you love me.” A pause. “We’ll be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @underwcrlds on tumblr
> 
> comments, critique, feedback, questions are all always appreciated!


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